5 Centimeters cubed
by Kaj-Nrig
Summary: 5 Centimeters cubed - a chain of short stories about the distance of their distance.
1. Falling Silence

A/N: I initially wrote this collection immediately after watching _5 Centimeters Per Second_ a few years ago. It has gone through major revision since, and I would like to think that it's now better for the wait. I hope you enjoy it.

_5 Centimeters Per Second_ is the copyrighted work of Makoto Shinkai and CoMix Wave Inc. This story uses that property without permission for free entertainment purposes only.

* * *

**(5 Centimeters) cubed**  
By Kaj-Nrig

Chapter 1: Falling Silence

* * *

Oh, him? Yes, I remember him. Why do you ask?

I don't know much about him, but judging by her, I can make a pretty good guess.

...I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me; it's been a very long time, and I'm afraid I can't... well, there were more important things going on then, as I'm sure you know.

No, no, it's okay. Really. It just never gets any easier is all. I can tell this is something very important to you.

It was late, I remember that. Very late. The train from Oyama had been backed up for hours. Everyone else had left, and I thought, "How long is she going to just stay there?"

She'd been sitting there for quite some time. You know how she was; she was one of those quiet but stubborn types, and she was going to stay glued to her seat for as long as necessary.

...what? 'What did she feel when she finally saw him'? Well... I'm no psychic, of course, but what I could see from them made me a little bit happier. For her, you know. And for him, too. It... It was as if he had fought the entire snowstorm just to see her. He just sort of stood in the doorway for a bit, gasping for breath, and I... well, I just sort of waited there, feeling a bit out of place. Hah! Imagine that. A train station attendant feeling out of place at a train station.

But really, it all felt a little... childish. Cute and stuff that they were so happy to see each other, but I remember wanting to sort of snap at them to get out and get home or something. I mean, they were just kids, and it _was_ snowing really badly outside. Where were their parents?

But they just sat down next to each other, ate some _onigiri_ rice balls, and left when it was time to close the station.

After I'd finished closing down, I went and prepared my car for what was definitely going to be an eventful ride home. The kids' tracks led off into the country... well, Iwafune is a rural community, so all directions lead to the country, I suppose... and in the distance I saw the giant cherry blossom tree.

On my way home, I remember thinking a lot about my wife. You did your research, right? No? Well, she had cancer, and seeing those two kids reminded me of the first time she and I met, and the kind of person I had been then.

I wondered... I wondered if I would've been able to sit on a cold, lonely, desolate track for hours on end like that. I wondered if she would've been able to wait for me in a cold, lonely, desolate little shack of a station.

While I was driving, I glanced out at the countryside, and off in the distance, I could faintly make out the kids and that cherry blossom tree. I think that was the first time I'd ever really stopped to think about anything. But I stopped in the snow, in my little car, and... all I did was look at the snow.

It sounds strange, doesn't it?

...well, alright, I suppose not, but don't say I didn't warn you. Where did we leave off... oh, right.

As the snow fell, I saw... people. All people, all the people of the world. Each person fell from the sky, falling from some... some nebulous and all-encompassing emptiness, and they all fell at five centimeters per second, as if they'd been sprinkled gently into the sky. All those people, all of them, they were all falling to the ground and becoming a big, giant blanket that erased everything in the world.

And then I glanced back over there and I saw those two kids, and I couldn't help but wonder if they already knew this, if this was them trying to keep from falling and drifting.

...a few days later, it snowed again. I brought flowers for... for my wife... Sorry. Please excuse me.

...I brought flowers for my wife, and we both sat there, in her hospital bed, looking out at the snow.

"They're falling," I told her. "The snow. It always falls at the same speed."

I don't know... No, I think I know why I said that. It felt like the right thing to say at the time, and... maybe I'm just adding things in hindsight, but... it felt like the proper thing to say, given what I'd seen a few nights before.

And she... She just nodded, squeezing my hand. "Yes." That was all she said. That one word.

Neither of us said anything else that day. We just sat there, with the drip of the IV fluid and the beep of the machinery keeping us company, watching the eventuality of our lives.

My wife died the same day spring arrived. That day, I went and sat in the shade of the cherry blossom tree. The petals fell just like the snow did, and I had the same feeling of emptiness. Of all these dainty petals just... falling by themselves. Alone. They bumped into other petals every now and then, but... there was never anything to unify them. Once they left that tree, they were on their own.

It really made me sad.

Then several blossoms landed on me, and I brushed them to the ground. I looked at them, forming another blanket, one on top of the other, and I smiled and went back home.

...yeah, that's it.

Sure thing. Bye, now.

...hey.

I hope this story helps you find what you're looking for.

**Chapter 1: Falling Silence END

* * *

**

**Notes:**

_Onigiri_ – Rice balls filled with various ingredients and wrapped in seaweed.


	2. Shopping for Sympathy

**(5 Centimeters)**** cubed**  
By Kaj-Nrig

Chapter 2: Shopping for Sympathy

* * *

Oh, I hope you'll forgive the coarse language, but he was the type of person you just wanted to slap and ask, "Are you blind!?"

I remember the first time they came into the store. Hah! Pretty good for an old woman, no?

They picked up their drinks, came and went, and I continued on without thinking anything. After all, this store's one of the few in town, so I get a lot of students. If you believe in omens and stuff, though, I suppose you could say that I should've seen it coming.

On my way home that night, I passed by an old barn – the one you passed on your way here, actually – and was suddenly reminded of this boy I used to know when I was younger. He was a quiet, mild-mannered boy, just like the boy in the store.

We were close friends through high school, but when it came time for college, we pursued different interests; I stayed here in Tanegashima and he went to study in Kyoto. We tried to keep in touch through letters and such, but... well, this _is_ an island. We eventually lost touch with each other.

In any case, a few days later, those two kids came back again, and they bought their drinks again. It never seemed like they were a couple or anything – the boy was always too polite – but any fool with half a brain could tell that the girl was completely infatuated with him. Why she hadn't told him by then, I'll never know, but regardless, they came and went, like they normally did, and I went home like I normally did.

That night was strange.

I passed by that same barn again, which got me thinking about my friend again. I thought about him along the way home, and I found myself wondering what had happened to him, whether he was alright, if I could find him again, little things such as that. It's one of those things you don't want to dwell on too much, you know, because there's often more harm than good that comes out of reminiscing about the past. Nostalgia has never been something I liked very much.

Nevertheless, I found myself later that night sifting through boxes that had been shabbily tossed together during my move. It's a strange thing, boxes like those. As I opened each one and browsed through their contents, I was filled with memories I hadn't even known I had forgotten; such was their nonexistence. I picked out a stapler and remembered how I had once stapled my blouse and skirt together, thinking it was a great idea at the time. I brought out a small mirror and felt the handle that had been worn smooth during college. In one of the boxes, I saw a picture of a cherry blossom tree a friend of mine had taken on a trip to Washington, D.C. during high school, and I remembered how some strange man had told me, "I've calculated it. Those things fall at five centimeters per second." For heaven's sake, I found a red paper clip and was instantly reminded of the history essay that it had bound, and the "C" I had received for it and how I had been so utterly shattered when I saw it.

They are all things whose significances are lost on you until you completely forget them and open up a box to look for something else entirely. It makes you wonder what else you had forgotten, and what little trinkets you had thrown away that were all you had to remind yourself of them.

But now I'm prattling on.

I found the yearbook, with a corner peeling off, and opened it until I found the friend I had lost. His picture was still the same as ever, yet when I looked at him this time, I felt like I saw not what he was in the picture, but what he was then, what he was in the now. I pictured a slightly graying head of hair, a face marked with creases that only served to lend more weight to his already quiet and dignified personality, and I pictured him with a gaunt and lanky body, just as it had been as a child.

I spent the next few days thinking about him. I don't know why. He seemed to occupy more and more of my time until I was no longer surprised by his presence inside my conscience.

They came to the store every now and then, and sometimes I saw them as they passed outside, but for the most part, there was nothing to indicate that their relationship had progressed any. Until one day near the end of the school season, I thought for sure that they really were just good friends.

I suppose, then, that my prediction came true. But it is still never a comforting thought when your prediction is that a girl will experience the heartache that she did.

Of course, she didn't confess her feelings to him in the store or any such thing. So how do I know? Well, there was a feeling about her the day after, when they came again to the store, a feeling of resignation or defeat. Or maybe futility. Yes, futility.

When I saw her, I thought about taking her aside and telling her what had happened to me the night before. I thought about it, but I never bothered. And after they left, I completely forgot about it. Well, at least until now. You see? Another example of what I was just talking about.

What happened the night before?

I came home, as usual, and I passed the barn, as usual, and my thoughts returned to that boy, as usual. When I opened the mailbox for my apartment, though, I realized that I had been thinking of him for a very special reason.

In the mailbox, mixed in with all the usual advertisements and bills and such, was a singularly peculiar letter, its corners slightly bent and worn down. I could have imagined him tapping it nervously on the mailbox, on his palm, on his desk. It had always been a habit of his, tapping anything against anything whenever he was nervous.

This is what the back of the envelope said:

_To Takahashi Fumiko-san_

That was all. But I knew, before opening it, that it had come from the very same man about whom I had been reminiscing, the very same man who had disappeared ages ago.

...no, I'm not going to tell you what it said. Even someone as old as me deserves some privacy, young 'un! Hah!

Oh, I'm just teasing you. Have a good day.

Oh, and I hope you can find whatever it is you're looking for.

**Chapter 2: Shopping for Sympathy END

* * *

**

**Notes:**

Tanegashima is an island on the southernmost tip of Japan, whereas Kyoto lies more to the center of the main island of Honshu. The distance separating them is roughly 400 miles (or close to 700 kilometers).

Takahashi Fumiko – One of the most popular manga artists, creator of Ranma ½, Inu-Yasha, and Maison Ikkoku, is named Takahashi Rumiko.


	3. 5 Centimeters cubed

**(5 Centimeters) cubed**  
By Kaj-Nrig

Chapter 3: (5 Centimeters) cubed

* * *

Well, as you can see, Akari isn't back just yet, so I suppose it's just you and me for now. Said something about shopping because her parents wanted her to. Anyway, is there anything I can do to help you?

Us?

Well... Hah. I'm afraid of saying anything that might incriminate myself. So when you see her, make sure you don't mention anything I say, okay? Good. Hahah.

No, I'm just kidding. We both love each other very much. The worst I'll get is a quick glare or two, though usually that's enough. Tea?

Did you know we're getting married? Yes, in just a few weeks, actually. Would you like to come? I'd be delighted, actually, and I'm sure she would, too.

...oh, no, it's nothing. Trust me, once you tell her what you've told me, she'll be ecstatic.

Anyway, what was I talking about... oh, right. We're about to get married, and it's amazing when I think about it, because it seemed like just yesterday that we first met. God, I hope not! Hah!

We were in college. It was getting close to the end of the semester, and I was studying in the library, when all of a sudden, in stepped the most beautiful woman in the world. You must have been there to truly grasp what I was talking about. She walked in, very demurely, but it was as if the sun had just lit up and was forming a halo around her, she was so pretty. She came in, glanced around a bit, and, not seeing any tables open, frowned, and it seemed to me like the room suddenly got a little dimmer with that frown.

She took little steps in all directions, as if she were lost between checking upstairs, asking someone if she could sit with them, and exiting the library altogether. I was awestruck, and I took more and more glances at her from beneath my calculus text, hoping, praying that she would come and ask to sit next to me.

...but apparently she was too shy and decided to leave. So as she turned around, I – oh, I laugh every time I think about this – I jumped out of my seat and started waving for her to come sit by me, but my leg got caught on the table leg and I ended up falling down like a bird shot out of the air! Oh, man! My chair toppled, my notebook fell down, my pencils were scattered everywhere... I knew the entire library was looking at me and wondering just what all the noise had been.

But, after I crawled back up and righted my chair, feeling embarrassed and very, very self-conscious, the next thing I saw was Akari Shinohara standing across from me, smiling a gorgeous little shy smile.

"Um... may I have this seat?" she asked me, and her voice was so quiet and tiny that it took me a moment to stop staring at her like a doofus and acknowledge the question.

"Uh, duh dah dah duh... y-yes, yes you may."

Pathetic, wasn't it? But she must have thought it was cute or something, because she sat down, and I kid you not, those one and a half sentences we shared were the greatest one and a half sentences in my entire life.

But anyway. She sat down, and I was just sort of baffled by all of this. I mean, how often is it that you embarrass yourself just to get a beautiful woman to sit next to you, and then actually _get_ that beautiful woman to sit next to you? It sure hadn't happened often to me. So when she sat down, working on her homework, I was just sort of scribbling in my notebook, not really paying attention to it, and I kept glancing at her from under my textbook.

...it's creepy, I know. I told her that, too, after we'd been going out for a while. You know what she did? She kissed me. Ah, I tell you, I'm the luckiest man in the world.

This went on for a while, maybe fifteen minutes or so, until I began to notice out of the corner of my eye that she was trading looks with me. Every time I looked up, she looked down, and every time I looked down, she looked up.

...so we were both creepy. Funny, ain't it? We were made for each other from the very beginning!

Anyway, I guess she noticed what I was working on, because she coughed, really quietly, and looked at me, turning her eyes aside just as I looked back. "Um..." she said. "I'm sorry to bother you..."

"Uh dah duh n... N-no, it's no problem. What's wrong?"

And then she said, in the quietest little voice possible, and I think I fell in love right then and there, "Um... If you're not too busy... I can't seem to understand this problem, and I noticed you were working on some advanced math, and I was just wondering if you could possibly quickly help me."

...and yeah, that's how we started talking to each other. I was so nervous at first that I kept tripping on my words, but eventually, I came to realize that she was a really normal girl. Just a bit quiet, you know?

I only liked her more from then on.

I helped her study, completely forgetting my own calculus – I ended up getting a B+ on the final – and after a while, after she had finished, we just sort of sat there, talking to each other. It was nice and peaceful, and I was surprised at how easily I opened up to her.

We were in the middle of a discussion about President Oike Kazuo invading the iAT when a flier suddenly fell out of her open binder and landed near me.

It was for a lecture or presentation on the Cambrian Period. "The Evolutionary Innovations of the Cambrian Period."

"Do you like paleontology?" I asked her, and I remember thinking that it was such a strange thing for a girl like to her to be into.

"Yes. I've liked it ever since I was a child. I love the Cambrian Period especially."

Now I'll be honest. I had absolutely no idea what was so important about the Cambrian Period. Or that it even existed, for that matter. I looked it up in a paleontology book once, and all I saw were weird little crustaceans. But I wasn't about to let this opportunity pass me, and so I asked if she wanted to go together.

"You mean a date?" she asked, giving me a look that's now reserved only for me.

"Of course not!" I assured her. "I've always been interested in the Cambrian Period!" And before she could ask me anything else and find the big hole in my argument, I said, "Come on! It'll be more interesting if you go with someone, right?"

She looked at me, and I thought for sure she was going to see through it. But then she thought about it some, and I knew I'd already won. Of course, now that I look back on it, maybe it was just her taking pity on me. Hah!

Anyway, that night after we were done studying, just as we promised, we both went to see the presentation. There weren't too many people in the lecture hall – about half of the seats were empty – but it was still pretty impressive to me that there were so many people interested in this stuff.

But once we went to find a seat, I... well, you know, I didn't want to just sit down next to Akari and blow any chance I had, but thankfully, she sat down two seats in and waited there for me to sit down next to her. That was the first thing that surprised me during the lecture.

The second thing was when the professor started talking about the Opabinia. She suddenly got this excited look on her face, and she straightened up just a little bit more, and I wondered just what it was that had piqued her attention. I mean, I sure as heck wasn't paying any attention to what was being said.

After a few seconds, though, she just sort of smiled, this kind of sad but happy smile that I only saw that one time, and there was something in her eyes. I don't think it was tears – I remember freaking out a little bit wondering if it was – but... there was something there. Maybe she was thinking of something. Maybe someone. She mentioned a friend of hers she'd been close to in elementary school a few times while we went out, but I can't say whether it was him or not.

She smiled that small, sad and happy smile, and then she looked at me and her smile felt a little bit happier. I smiled back at her, and when the lecture was done, I walked her to her apartment and I was lucky enough to get her cell number.

Afterwards, I was on top of the world. Everything just seemed to work out perfectly, you know? It was... I dunno, it was like a movie! It was- Oh, wait. Sorry. It's Akari.

Akari?

...what? You what?

...yeah. Five centimeters per second. Why?

Oh. Oh, okay, then. Well, then, I'll see you in a few minutes.

Yeah.

Okay. I love you, too.

Bye- Oh, wait, Akari!

Just to let you know, there's someone here that I think you'll want to meet. Okay?

It's a secret, honey. You'll find out when you get here.

Alright. Okay, bye, Akari.

...sorry about that. She says she's on her way home right now, and she'll be here in about fifteen minutes. It was weird, though.

...what? Oh, nothing. She just said something strange on the phone, that's all.

...well, you remember the cherry blossom tree that's by the train tracks on the way here? Well, she was talking about passing it just a few seconds ago.

She said, "You remember what I told you when we passed that cherry blossom tree on our way back from our first date? About how fast the petals fell?"

Yeah, the story I just told you about. I told her, "Five centimeters per second."

And she said, "Well, I think I just kept a promise I made a long time ago, that's all."

...anyway, that's that. Some more tea, Mr. Shinkai?

**(5 Centimeters) cubed END

* * *

**

**Notes:**

Oike Kazuo – the former president of Kyoto University.

iAT ("International Afternoon Tea") – every week at Kyoto University's "KI-ZU-NA"student lounge, foreign and native students gather to speak over tea and coffee. In 2007, President Oike went to one of these. Its inclusion in this story is simply for "realism's" sake and isn't meant to imply that Akari went to Kyoto University.


End file.
